The Lagos State Government and stakeholders in the food value chain have advocated for manufacturers’ total compliance with the regulatory framework designed to ensure food quality and safety practices in the country.
They stated that prioritizing food safety will ensure consumers receive adequate protection and strengthen food industry standards.
This was stated during the 2025 Food Safety Workshop held in Lagos in collaboration with DIDONI Company, with the theme: “Food Safety First: Protecting Consumers, Empowering Industries.
During the event where policymakers, regulatory agencies, manufacturers, food scientists, public health experts, and others addressed the rising concerns on food quality, identifying compliance with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) as better measures to ensure the citizens do not consume harmful products.
Addressing the gathering, the Director General of the Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, emphasized the need for stakeholders in the country’s food value chain key into the system of protecting consumers of their products.
While arguing the need for urgent support for safe food systems in both formal and informal sectors, Mojola stressed that protecting the public from risk must constitute stakeholders’ core ideology.
“Food safety must be central to our health and industrial policies. Protecting the public from food-borne risks is not negotiable, and it requires collaboration across all levels—government, private sector, and consumers.”
The safety commission boss assured Nigerians that the Lagos state Government remains committed to creating a robust regulatory environment that empowers industries while safeguarding consumer health.
Meanwhile, Mojola commended DIDONI for partnering with the state in the quest to build a resilient and safety-conscious food industry.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, DIDONI Company, Adekola Joseph, explained that the workshop was organised to further promote food safety in the country.
“When food is unsafe, lives are at risk, economies suffer, and consumer confidence is eroded. This workshop is a clarion call for Allergies American players—big and small—to place food safety at the core of their operations,” he added.
Other Stakeholders at the event include Sweet Sensation, Infinity Querentia, Casa Verde, ShopRite, Rite Foods, Flour Mills, Nestle, Etionary properties, Restaurants and Food Services proprietors Association of Nigeria(REFSPAN), and Association for Promotion of Food Safety and improved Nutrition (APFSAN), Lagos State chapter.
